30/09/2021
Where does one begin, unpacking an altar? I'll start in the heart... Kali- MA, mother of creation and destruction, slayer of the ego, keeper of the alphabet... On a 6 month sojourn in India I'd find myself lost and confused and bewildered many a time in places and situations far out on the orbits of my world of experience, overwhelmed by crowds of the Kumbh Mela, seeking needles of Neville in haystack of the Juna Akhara sadhu camps, wondering aimlessly in the streets of Hardwar. I'd stumble into temples to catch my breath. And Kali would appear, provide refuge and protection. On my return to Jozi the first thing I found was an exhibition by a Kalu acolyte. When I made my first bamboo harvest my first customer was using the bamboo for the Jandhi ceremony, with Kali the goddess of honor. She's always close, warrior, protector, benefactor, blesser... Tucked in below the Ace of Spades and Queen of Hearts minicards from my grandmother, a 6 of Swords found serendupitiously under a bush in the giant Retiro Park in a Madrid right by the Statue of the Fallen Angel qt just 666m altitude... A card from the deck devised by my brilliant friend Peter (now passed over) and wizard Angus... Handcarved Ivory animal figurines my grandparents were given in their times in the Caprivi, including my guardian and guide, Ingwe Yasehlatini, Leopard of the Forest (more on that later), bushman tool found with my father in the vast desert near the brandberg mountains, a stone each from the holy Ganga River in the holy city Rushikesh and ancient Hampi temple complex... Housed in a beaten copper box I remember from my earliest childhood in my grandparents sitting room... Truly Pandora's box from which a great wealth of stories and delights spring forth
